2011

News and Events from the European Services Strategy Unit from 2011.

New edition of PPP Database on Strategic Partnerships: The Database now covers 48 strategic partnerships and has been expanded with more analysis of operational contracts, a new Strategic Partnership Performance Ratio, and new tables on community trusts in strategic partnerships and contractor performance.
2011-11-27 11:25:04
Compelling Evidence Against a Strategic Partnership: Analysis of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets approach to procurement of a strategic partnership for ICT and corporate services, employing 615 staff. Reveals that there was no evidence of an options or business case prior to the start of procurement. Highlights the limitations of strategic partnerships and the potential impact on the local economy if services are located elsewhere. Proposes an alternative approach to service improvement.
2011-11-21 08:31:13
IN PLACE OF AUSTERITY: Reconstructing the economy, state and public services by Dexter Whitfield: Paperback £18.00 - ISBN: 978 085124 7939 Order online at: http://www.spokesmanbooks.com/acatalog/Dexter_Whitfield.html#a601 ePUB format of the book is available @ £11.99 - ISBN: 978 0 85124 7946. Order: http://www.spokesmanbooks.com/acatalog/ePUB_eBooks.html#a240 A Summary of the book and the Press Release is also available on the ESSU website.
2011-11-17 11:35:49
Barnet seeks to terminate Greenwich Leisure Ltd contract: The London Borough of Barnet is considering terminating a 15 year leisure services contract. This is a story of mismanagement of a single service contract that again exposes the high-risk strategy and assumptions proposed by the One Barnet model. Meanwhile, the Council is at the procurement stage of several multi- service, multi-million pound, long-term contracts that are up to 50 times the value of the leisure contract!
2011-11-11 13:01:09
Privatisation of London’s Fire Service Training and Control Centre: The planned outsourcing of Fire Service training and Fire Control services could result in the fracturing of Fire and Emergency services in London. A report for the FBU, UNISON and GMB exposes the threat to the fire and rescue service by outsourcing fire service training and the Fire Control service. New high risks will be imposed on fire service, potential discrimination in the treatment of staff, and a flawed procurement process driven by political dogma.
2011-10-22 09:47:55
Select Committees recommend sharing PFI equity profits and criticise use of tax havens: Following detailed evidence of Private Finance Initiative equity profiteering and the transfer of assets to tax havens submitted by Dexter Whitfield, the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee has recommended gain sharing in new and existing PFI projects (1 September 2011). The Committee called for the Treasury to measure tax revenue from PFI deals and ensure this is taken into account in project assessments. It recommended Freedom of Information be extended to private companies delivering public services. An earlier report by the House of Commons Treasury Committee (August 2011) also included the PFI profits evidence, and was highly critical of the cost of PFI, off-balance sheeting financing and value for money assessments.
2011-09-06 09:24:45
社会服务现代化 - Modernising Social Services? Evidence from the Frontline: This 2004 report by the Centre for Public Services has been reprinted in a new book, ‘Social Services’, by Li Bing, PH.D. Vice Professor, the Department of Sociology, Beijing Administrative College. The Chinese version can be downloaded (the English version in our publications section). The report examines the implementation of the previous government’s modernisation agenda for public sector reform and gives a voice to social care professionals at the frontline of service delivery and modernisation. It gives their impressions of how the key aspects of the government’s agenda were being implemented on the ground and shows how it undermined service quality and the welfare state.
2011-07-24 15:19:56
Social Policy Association Award for Outstanding Contribution from a Non-Academic: Dexter Whitfield has received the 2011 Social Policy Association Award for Outstanding Contribution from a Non-Academic. The award “celebrates his work in campaigning, research and advocacy for fairer UK state services over 40 years and, in particular, his defence of welfare services against privatisation and marketisation”.
2011-07-15 12:04:45
Analysis of Business Case for £600m-£750m New Support & Customer Services Project: London Borough of Barnet: The Business Case fails to fulfil several basic requirements with regard to strategic, economic, commercial, financial and management functions. The Council is attempting to privatise risks by omitting them from the Business Case. Important financial, operational, democratic governance and employment risks are excluded. Job losses could range between 189.5 and 253.3 jobs due to the combined effect of outsourcing other Council services and CSO – NSO efficiency savings. The savings figures are grossly over-estimated because they do not take account of the cost of redundancies or accommodation costs.
2011-06-27 08:32:10
PFI Profits: The vast profits being made by contractors and banks selling equity in PFI project companies was exposed by the BBC File on 4 programme on 13 June. The programme was based on The £10bn Sale of Shares in PPP Companies: New source of profits for builders and banks, and earlier evidence in Global Auction of Public Assets by Dexter Whitfield. BBC Podcast: *PFI Profits* File on 4, 14 June 2011 – 38 mins http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/radio4/fileon4/fileon4_20110615-0950b.mp3 BBC Press Release: *HM Treasury 'in dark' over 'excessive' PFI profits* http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13712275 Further reports in Financial Times, Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph, Left Foot Forward, Tax Justice Network and Open Democracy. Download: *The £10bn Sale of Shares in PPP Companies* which details profits from equity sales and the use of tax havens - http://www.european-services-strategy.org.uk/publications/essu-research-reports/essu-research-report-no-4-the-ps10bn-sale-of-s/
2011-06-15 10:54:16
Is Commissioning the Way Forward?: An article in *Local Government Chronicle*, 9 June 2011, by Dexter Whitfield, describes commissioning as a wolf in sheep's clothing because it will lead to private monopoly, commercialised services, agendas dominated by the vested interests of private contractors and little transparency. Sets out an alternative approach. www.lgcplus.com
2011-06-12 12:54:24
Analysis of Business Case for Local Authority Trading Company: The London Borough of Barnet plans to transfer Adult Services to a Local Authority Trading Company (LATC) together with Barnet Homes, the Arms Length Management Organisation managing the council housing stock. About 160 Adult Services staff will transfer to the LATC. The LATC model is intended to commercialise Barnet’s provision of learning disability and physical and sensory impairment services for adults. The business case refers to ‘profits’ and the Council using its power as shareholder to demand annual ‘dividends’. Rather than subsidising important social and housing services, these services will in future subsidise other Council services!
2011-05-21 13:12:26
Savings fail to materialise in Somerset strategic partnership with IBM: A short video of a BBC Southwest programme about Southwest One, Somerset County Council's strategic service-delivery partnership with IBM where only £3.3m of the promised £200m savings have been achieved since 2007. Includes revealing interview with Leader of the Council about renegotiating the contract. (Takes a few seconds to get on to piece and for sound to cut in). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucbdox3-Oq0
2011-04-19 14:43:51
European Public Services Briefing 3: A Single European Market in Healthcare: The impact of European Union policy on national healthcare provision, Andy Morton.: Examines the recent Cross Border Healthcare Directive, the role of the European Court of Justice and the ‘Europeanisation of Healthcare’. The introduction of EU law into healthcare presents many problems. The most pressing being that EU institutions have sought to apply the ‘economic’ rights enshrined in the EU Treaty’s free movement law to national healthcare systems, like Britain’s NHS, that are essentially ‘social’ in purpose and aims. Expanding the ‘choices’ of users and providers of cross-border European healthcare is a further indulgence of the choice agenda that we’ve seen in Britain. This will only serve to further undermine social healthcare provision in the UK and the rest of Europe.
2011-03-25 12:16:26
ESSU launches a new series of European Public Services Briefings.: The Briefings will examine the impact of EU liberalisation and competition policy on the provision of public services in Britain. No 1 - European Union Competition Policy and the Liberalisation of Postal Services and No 2 - The Impact of European Union Competition Policy on Public Transport Policy and Provision in the UK, both by Andy Morton. See Publications: ESSU Reports and Briefings for summary and downloads.
2011-03-02 09:59:15
Somerset County Council to renegotiate PPP contract with IBM: Following various reviews the County Council has decided to renegotiate the public private partnership contract with IBM and Mouchel just three years into the ten-year £400m contract. The Council wishes to bring some services and functions back in-house, change the governance of the JVC, achieve further savings and simplify the contract. The Council considered terminating the contract but this was ruled out because of early termination financial penalties and significant transition costs.
2011-02-22 16:35:27
Two reports in Barnet Press on sale of PPP shares: Two articles in The Press, Barnet (13 January and 27 January 2011) on the potential effects of the sale of equity in PPP companies, focusing on Barnet General Hospital which featured in the ESSU Research Report - £10bn Sale of Shares in PPP Companies.
2011-01-27 15:51:08
Guardian Public article on ESSU report on PPP equity profits: 'A Very Private Partnership' in The Guardian Public section, Monday 17 January, has detailed coverage of the sale of shares in PPP companies by Jo Adetunji. It has a revealing response from HSBC Infrastructure. http://www.guardianpublic.co.uk/private-sector-profiteering-from-ppp
2011-01-17 09:47:58
The £10bn Sale of Shares in PPP Companies: New source of profits for builders and banks, Dexter Whitfield: A new ESSU Research Report reveals 240 PPP equity transactions involved 1,229 PPP projects (including multiple sales) valued at £10.0bn in the last decade. Average profit was 50.6% in individual and group equity transactions. £517.9m profit from a sample of 154 PPP projects. If the same level of profit were maintained for the 622 individual and group PPP project equity transactions the total profit would be £2.2bn. (This excludes the undisclosed profits obtained in the sale of secondary market infrastructure funds). Increased use of tax havens for UK infrastructure funds – 91 PPP projects with 50% - 100% equity ownership with funds registered in tax havens. A hard copy of the report is published by Spokesman Books (www.spokesmanbooks.com) ISBN 978-0-85124-791-5, price £8.95. Superseded by the *PPP Wealth Machine: UK and Global trends in trading project ownership* and the *ESSU PPP Equity Database* which can be download http://www.european-services-strategy.org.uk/ppp-database/ppp-equity-database/
2011-01-11 09:26:20

This document was created by Adam Moran on 2011-12-15 12:02:08.
This document was last modified by Chris Croome on 2011-12-15 21:12:55.
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2011

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